I
arrived in the Pin Valley at the end of September 2000. This region in
the northwest part of the Indian Himalayas has only been open to tourists
for the last few years. I finally managed to reach there with a friend,
a guide, a cook, and some pack ponies to carry our gear. We had just arrived
and set up camp outside the village of Guling. I was standing on top of
a new concrete addition to an old Buddhist monastery. Below me, about
2 kilometers away I could see a lot of movement. I took out my binoculars
and much to my delight I saw it was a large gathering of ponies and people.

I ran down to our campsite
where my guide announced that there were some men from Bhutan, the mountainous
Buddhist kingdom to the northeast of India, who had come to buy the famous
Chamurthi ponies. Being a horse lover since childhood, I couldn't possibly
miss this sight and ran down the hill to the town.

When I arrived the place was
buzzing with activity and dust. There were ponies everywhere along with
their owners, as well as all the local villagers who couldn't resist such
an interesting spectacle in this normally quiet place. Three Bhutanese
gentlemen were there to purchase ponies to take back to their country
to improve their breeding stock. There was a lot of lively bargaining
and discussion in the age-old tradition of horse trading.

While
it was winding up I took the opportunity to jump on a few ponies to try
them out. I wasn't familiar with riding a pacing horse. I was immediately
impressed by how comfortable and smooth their movement is for such a small
pony. They seem to glide over the uneven ground and spare the rider any
discomfort just by the nature of their unusual gaits. I found that as
soon as I mounted one, they were off with only the slightest prompting.

I then spent several days in
this area trekking, camping and visiting some of the small villages in
the Pin Valley which are not yet accessible by road.
To discover a culture that not only uses the horse as its major form of
transportation, but also reveres them, was an inspiring and exciting experience
for me. I fell in love with this plucky and intrepid pony, the Chamurthi.

I have been living in the
Kullu Valley in Himachal Pradesh, India for the last 25 years. This area
is not far from the Pin Valley, but Spiti was closed to foreigners for
many years due to its proximity to the Tibetan/Chinese border. I had heard
about these particular ponies for a long time and had longed to visit
there. Once it was opened up to tourists I finally managed to go, and
the trip surpassed all my expectations. Not only are the ponies lovely,
the people friendly and charming, but the whole valley is suffused with
a mystical, meditative atmosphere. Perhaps it is the altitude, perhaps
it is the ancient Buddhist faith that permeates the place, but the affect
on one's psyche is palpable. It is certainly one of the special, enchanted
corners on our globe.